Top Artists

The Cure

Artist, Contributor

The Cure have been playing mope rock for depressed teens since 1976. Think of it in terms of units of black eyeliner sold.

Metronomy

Artist, Contributor

Devon, England’s Metronomy make nuanced, well-constructed indie pop with dance-music leanings.

Leona Lewis

Artist, Contributor

Leona Lewis, a British pop singer and songwriter, was the winner a televised British talent contest called The X Factor.

Eros Ramazzotti

Artist, Contributor

An Italian who’s found success on the Latin Pop circuit, Ramazzotti’s been leaning towards rock in recent years.

No Doubt

Artist, Contributor

From underground ska band to mainstream commercial pop band, No Doubt’s career has taken many interesting turns.

Michael Bublé

Artist, Contributor

This Canadian crooner adds some Stevie Wonder-style soul sizzle to a fresh take on classic showmanship.

Top Works

good to know

Jojo

JoJo’s fourth full-length album, and first on her own Clover Music imprint with Warner Records, 2020’s Good to Know, finds the singer digging into a sensual R&B sound that’s marked by a hard-won maturity and creative freedom. The album arrives four years after Mad Love, during which time JoJo parted ways with Atlantic Records and worked to take control of her career, launching Clover Music and releasing re-recorded versions of her first two albums. Here, working with producers Doc McKinney, Dylan Wiggins, Lido, and others, JoJo frames her warm vocals in hypnotic downtempo …

Gigaton

Pearl Jam

Urgency has been Pearl Jam’s calling card since their inception, which is why it was a jolt to hear the band sound so settled on 2013’s Lightning Bolt. Maybe it’s the times, maybe it’s the choice to switch producers — the group swapped their longtime collaborator Brendan O’Brien for Josh Evans, who co-produced the album with the band — but Gigaton hits with the strength of a full-force gale. Weather is a galvanizing concern on Gigaton, with Pearl Jam structuring their 11th album around the looming climate change crisis. There’s little subtlety in this …

Control

Janet Jackson

Although Janet Jackson had released two records in the early ’80s, they were quickly forgotten, and notably shaped by her father’s considerable influence. Janet’s landmark third album, 1986’s Control, changed all that. On the opening title track, Jackson, with passion and grace, declares her independence, moving out of the gargantuan shadow of her brother Michael and on to the business of making her own classic pop album. The true genius of Control lies in the marriage of her extremely self-assured vocals with the emphatic beats of R&B production wizards Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The …

Customer Reviews